The 10 Best Films of 2018

First of all, congratulations: You survived 2018. That’s no small feat. It feels like 30 years have passed since the last time we did this. Apparently, it’s just been 12 months? Personally, I’m not buying it.

One of the main reasons I’ve made it this far this year are movies, which have provided more than their share of entertainment, education, diversion, and therapy in 2018. My “shortlist” of favorite films for this list ran well over 30 options for just ten final slots, meaning great films like Suspiria, BlacKkKlansman, Hereditary, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, Mom and Dad, and the timely The Death of Stalin didn’t get a mention (until now — see how I did that?).

There were so many incredible films (not to mention Incredibles films) in 2018, and from so many places; not just in theaters but at home as well, as the level of quality among original movies produced and distributed by online streaming sites continues to rise. Almost a third of my list debuted on streaming, a fact that would have seem impossible just a few short years ago.

Let’s hope the trend towards quality continues into 2019. And let’s hope it doesn’t feel like four lifetimes have passed the next time we honor this annual tradition. In ascending order, here’s my top ten for 2018...

Runners-Up (In Order of Preference):First Reformed, At Eternity’s Gate, You Were Never Really Here, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Black Panther, Game Night, Paddington 2, If Beale Street Could Talk, Burning, Instant Family.